Darkness Rising
by Shourukasai Rauc
Summary: Sigma. Yeah. He's a problem, but another problem is rising. This is a continuation of "Protoman. Criminal?".
1. Introduction

**Darkness Rising**

* * *

><p>Note: You need to read part of the last chapter of "Protoman. Criminal?" in order to understand why Roll is in here. I do not own Megaman or any of its characters.<p>

* * *

><p>It was dark in the room. An old abandoned building housed this room. Dr. Cain moved to a cylindrical object and wiped the dust off of it, revealing an X.<p>

"What's this?" he asked.

A small screen behind him sprang to life, revealing an old man.

"My name is Thomas Light. I am the researcher who designed and built Megaman X," he gave a cough. "I granted X special powers that

no other robot possesses. Utilizing his consciousness, he is able to think, worry, and act entirely of his own accord. This means that he

is also imbued with the materials to facilitate the evolution of robots the same manner as life! It is an unfortunate fact that human life is

short and fleeting. I fear that I will not have the time to ensure the safety of the X project. That is why I have decided to seal him

away. Perhaps he will be discovered in the far flung future and will fight valiantly to ensure peace for all people. Yes, I firmly believe this

will come to pass. But I am not without worry. I fear that X will be swept up in the war we call progress. I urge the people of the future

to remember that X is my... No, the world's hope." his face contorted in pain. "I also worry about my other project. Project Roll. I fear

that I will not have enough time to complete her, I have barely begun to insert her circuitry. I have labeled the equipment that's in my

tool drawer to go inside her. Whoever is watching this, you must complete the Roll project."

The screen turned off. Dr. Cain stood, thinking about what Dr. Light had said. He located the panel on X's console and pressed a button

that opened the capsule. Inside, lay X, eyes closed, resting peacefully.

"X. X!" Dr. Cain exclaimed silently.

X woke up and turned to look at the stranger.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" he asked mildly.

Dr. Cain chuckled. "No. I'm afraid you're in a different time. My name is Dr. Cain," he said, giving a slight bow, supporting himself with his

cane.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Cain," X replied.

Dr. Cain gave another chuckle. "X, you're just like a human."

X sat up and came out of his capsule. He looked around and asked, "Do you know why I'm awake?"

"Yes," Dr. Cain said, "I think I am supposed to copy your design and build other robots."

"Okay."

Dr. Cain looked behind him and found another capsule. He wiped off the place where it seemed the head for it should be. He found a

glass window revealing a youthful female face with a red cap on. He opened the capsule and found that, even though the face was

ready, the rest of her body wasn't. The structure was already made, but there were almost no wires except for the ones leading from

her head and her mechanical heart. The blueprint for her was located above her head.

"X?" Dr. Cain looked at X. "Do you know what parts we need to complete this robot?"

X walked over. He looked at her and shook his head. "Sorry, I don't know anything about building."

Dr. Cain shook his head too, then he remembered what Dr. Light had said. He looked for the tool drawer. Upon finding it, he found

different labels on different drawers.

"X!" he cried. "Let's assemble her using these!"

X hurried over with the blueprint in his hand. They then began to complete project Roll. In about two weeks, they both finished her. She

was outfitted with a red cap, a red T-shirt, and red shorts. Each of her red shoes had a diamond embedded into them as did her brown

gloves. Her hair was blond and spikey.

"Last thing," X said, holding the blueprints. "She doesn't need programming. Dr. Light's already done that."

Dr. Cain flipped the switch that was located in her neck and closed the panel. She opened her eyes, revealing big blue eyes.

"Oh!" she exclaimed and turned her head to look at Dr. Cain. Then she saw X.

"Megaman!" she yelled, holding her arms out.

X was startled, but gave a sheepish grin and hugged her anyway.

"Do you two know each other?"

X looked down. "No. I was just trying to be polite."

Roll's countenance fell. _"Oh, yeah. Right. He doesn't remember me anymore."_

X looked back at her. "Hey," he said gently. "It's not too late to learn about each other, right?" He extended his hand.

Roll looked back up and smiled. She took his hand and he helped her up. X smiled.

"I'm Megaman X. What's your name?" he asked.

"I'm Roll," she said, smiling.

X gave a chuckle.

"What are you laughing about?" Roll asked.

"It's just weird," X said, scratching the back of his helmet with a grin on his face. "Dr. Light would sometimes call me Rockman X. So

when you told me your name, I thought of 'Rockman and Roll' which turned into 'Rock and Roll'."

Roll looked down. _"If only you knew that was what our names actually were."_

X looked at her with a worried expression. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said sadly.

"Why don't you two live with me?" Dr. Cain asked. "That way I could study X's design and you two could get to know each other a bit

more."

"Sure," X said. "Roll, are you okay with that?"

"Yeah, I'm fine with it." she replied.

The three then headed out.

* * *

><p>(Read and Review!)<p> 


	2. Two Newcomers

**One year later.**

X and Zero were talking casually, sitting on a bench when Roll strode up to them.

"Wanna go for a ride, X?" she asked.

X looked at Zero, who gave a nod, and said, "Why not?"

They each got into their own Ride Chasers, Roll's being identified by having small wings on the back of it. They sped through a small part of town. Zero started to whistle a tune.

"Hey, where'd you get that, Zero?" X asked.

Zero thought about it and replied, "Actually, I don't know. It's just something I remember."

Roll cringed. _"Protoman? Are you in Zero's body?"_

They came to an abandoned building and stopped there.

"Hey, X!" Roll said. "You remember this?"

X smiled. "Yeah, this is where you and I were first made: Light Industries."

A purple light shone from the third story window, attracting Zero's attention.

"X," he said, pointing. "what's that?"

X looked at where Zero was pointing. "I've never seen that before."

"Let's go!" Roll said and rushed through the door.

"Roll, wait!" X yelled, chasing her.

"Roll, don't get hurt!" Zero yelled.

Roll quickly went up the stairs, faster than the others because she didn't have any armor on. She reached the third floor and stopped.

X and Zero came up, panting.

"Glad we caught up with you." X looked at the purple light. It was spinning, as if it was a portal.

They stared at it, fascinated by it.

"What does it do?" Zero asked, finally.

Roll walked up to it and touched it. It then disappeared. Roll cocked her head and gave an inquisitive look.

"I don't know what it was, but I'm getting out of here," Roll said, making her way toward the door.

They all got down the stairs and to their Ride Chasers. X started his Ride Chaser when there was an explosion.

"!" something yelled as it flew out of Light Industries's window.

They stared at it and then Roll revved up her Ride Chaser and took off, dodging the small traffic that was there, X and Zero behind her. They followed where they thought it went until they came to a food stand where a male owner was frantically calling the police. Roll, X, and Zero ran to the place and saw a small, pink thing happily eating watermelons that were its size.

"Thank goodness you're here!" the owner said, coming up to them.

"What is that?" Roll asked.

"I don't know, but it's eating all of my food!" the owner replied hotly.

X went up to the creature and kneeled, looking at it.

"Hey, little guy. What's your name?" he asked.

The creature stared at him and then happily said, "Kirby! Kirby!" waving his arms.

"Awww, he's soooooo cute!" Roll exclaimed, picking him up. She put him down and asked X, "Can we keep him?"

"Well, uh, I don't know if the Hunters would like it," he replied, scratching the back of his helmet.

Roll looked at him with a sad expression, causing him to laugh.

"Okay, okay! I'll talk to Signas," he said.

Zero came up to it.

"How long has this thing been eating your watermelons?" he asked the owner.

"Not for very long, but he ate six of them!" the owner replied.

"Six?" Roll asked in astonishment. She looked at Kirby. "But he's so little!"

Kirby walked over to a watermelon that was twice his size.

"Get him away from that!" the owner yelled.

"Eh, he can't possibly–," X began but then stopped as Kirby swallowed the melon whole.

Zero looked at Roll. "You sure you want to keep him?"

Roll looked at Kirby with her hand by her mouth. "...Sure," she said after a while, slowly. "Who else would keep him?"

"Well, don't expect me to take care of him," Zero said, turning his back to Kirby.

"Poyo?" Kirby asked sadly.

Roll kneeled down. "Don't you worry. I'll take care of ya!"

"EEEEEEYAAAAHHHHHHH!" a voice yelled.

X turned around. "Look out, Roll!" He fired a shot at a strange figure who was in the air. The figure deflected the shot, barely missing X, who had dodged.

"My strawberries!" the owner exclaimed.

The figure landed on the ground, a short guy with a blue shirt/pants.

Zero tried grabbing the person, but got a roundhouse to the face.

"Kirby!" it yelled with a Brooklyn accent, "Suck em' up!"

Kirby wrested himself from Roll's grasp and started to suck up Zero and X with a powerful vortex.

"What's going on?" Zero yelled, clawing the ground.

"Kirby! No!" Roll yelled, slapping Kirby's head.

Kirby stopped, and turned to Roll with a sad face. Then he turned to the blue figure and wiped his nose. The figure wiped his nose too and turned to Roll.

"All right, sista. Hand Kirby over!"

"No!" Roll yelled, grasping Kirby again.

"I'll ask you one more time. Hand over–Yahhhhh!" the figure yelled in pain as Roll sprayed his eyes with pepper spray.

X took this opportunity to grab the figure and restrict its arms and legs.

"All right! Who are you?" X yelled.

"My name's Knuckle Joe," the guy replied calmly.

"I say we kill him," Zero commented.

X glared at Zero. Zero then started to whistle Protoman's tune.

X looked at Roll and said, "Let's take these two to the Maverick Hunter base."

"My pineapple!" the owner yelled.


	3. An Intruder from another Realm

Milan, a normal reploid worker, was driving to work on a busy street.

"Man," he groaned. "I knew I should have left earlier."

All of a sudden, some of the cars in front of him were forcefully thrown onto their sides, leaning against the cars in the other lane.

"What the?" Milan said, getting out of his car.

A strange man walked out from an alley. Immediately, Milan could tell that something was wrong with him, but couldn't put his finger on it. The man turned around, looking at Milan. Instead of having pupils for eyes, he had big nails. Milan took a step back and reached for his pistol that he kept on his person. Suddenly, he was thrown into the air, then pulled towards the strange man, landing near his feet.

"Metal man," was all that Milan heard the stranger say before receiving a deadly blow to the back of the ribs. A punch that was all too superhuman.


	4. Roll to the Rescue!

Roll, X, and Zero were sitting by a table, watching Kirby stuff his face.

"I can't believe how much he can eat!" X exclaimed after watching Kirby eat two pizzas.

Zero was reaching down to grab a pizza slice when Kirby popped it in his mouth.

"Hey!" Zero yelled, ready to grab him.

"Poyo?" Kirby said, giving Zero a sad expression that disarmed his anger.

"Say, what did they do with Knuckle Joe?" Roll asked.

"They took him to be interrogated," X replied.

Roll looked worried. "I hope they're not too harsh on him."

Zero looked at her. "Harsh? He tried to attack you, Roll! What do you mean you hope they're not too harsh on him?"

Roll looked down. "I guess he's kinda cute too, so I don't want to see any harm to him."

Zero gave a sigh of exasperation and stood up.

"X, Zero! We need you to stop an unidentified target on Center and Main street!" a voice on the PA announced.

X stood up and began to run with Zero when Roll yelled, "Wait! I wanna go too!"

"No, Roll," X called over his shoulder. "This might be dangerous!"

Roll sat in her chair and fumed while X and Zero hopped into their Ride Chasers and drove off.

"Why don't I have any attack capabilities?" Roll asked herself. "Maybe I'll check my systems to see if I do."

Roll closed her eyes, mentally hearing what her different capabilities were.

**Speed: Higher than Average.**

**Intelligence: Higher than Average.**

**Frailty: Average.**

"_That's kind of weird. Why would I have average frailty?"_

**Attack Capabilities:**

_**Elec Orb**_

_**Claws**_

_**Fire Wave**_

_**Cold Blast**_

_**Bomb**_

_**Cutter**_

**Guts**

Roll sat there for a moment, glowing with happiness. She stood up, ran to her Ride Chaser and took off, heading for Center and Main street, leaving Kirby alone.

X and Zero were approaching Center and Main, and already they could see overturned cars.

"No damage from plasma," Zero said. "Must've been pushed over."

"But how could someone push the cars over with such force?" X asked after seeing a dead reploid in a car.

"I've got a signal," Zero said.

"One guy?" X asked after a bit. "How could one guy do this?"

They approached the tall man who was wearing a brown cloak. The man turned around.

"More metal men," he said. Soon after he said this, X and Zero flew into the air, as did their Chasers. They fell to the ground, quite a bit of a ways from their position before they were pushed. X looked up, just in time to see his Chaser come right on top of him.

"AHHHHHHH!" he yelled in pain.

The man approached them, wielding a large obsidian axe. Zero changed his hand to his buster, ready to fire at the man if he tried to hurt X. The man, seeing that Zero's hand had changed, started to walk towards him instead of X. X also changed his hand to his buster. This caused the man to stop for a second. X could feel a ton of force pushing him into the ground, threatening to crush his ribs. He looked to Zero, who was cringing in pain. X looked back at the man, who was coming closer to X now. The man put his obsidian blade to X's neck, making sure that he would make an accurate slice. X looked in horror as the blade lifted up when something big and red flew threw the air, smashing into the person's side. X felt a tremendous amount of relief from the force that had been pushing him. He tried to look up over his Ride Chaser, but couldn't.

"The mission is too dangerous, eh?" X heard a voice say, causing him to laugh.

"Ok, I'll see if I can bring you along next time, Roll," he replied.

Roll walked over to X and hefted the Ride Chaser that was on top of him as if it was a light backpack and set it to the ground easily. X stared, dumbfounded. Roll did the same to Zero's Chaser, causing Zero to blink in surprise.

"Uh, have you always been able to do this?" X stammered out.

"No," Roll said simply, dusting herself off. "I just recently found out."

A growl emanated from the man who was rising from the ground, about 8 yards away. Roll's Chaser was about 13 yards away.

Roll blinked. "I smashed my Chaser into him, and he's still alive?"

The man walked over to them, eyes glaring at them, and picked up his axe that was lying on the ground. X got up, cringing with the pain that was in his back and chest. Zero got up slowly, switching to his buster. Roll's belt changed so that it was black and had for its belt buckle a silver belt buckle with a lightning symbol on it. Her hands started to crackle with electricity as she positioned her hands so that one was above the other. Zero could feel his anger rising, making him snarl.

"Not yet, Zero," X said.

"I'm taking him!" Zero yelled, running towards the man, firing off a shot.

"Zero!" X yelled.

The man dodged the shot, moving extremely fast. He then dashed to Zero and grabbed him by the throat.

"Zero!" X yelled again, aiming his buster at the man.

Zero gasped for air, unable to breath.

"_Go ahead, X. Fire. Only to destroy Zero in the process!"_

X could hear those words in his head. The scene was all too clear. Sigma was grabbing Zero in the missile base when that happened.

There was a shaft of light behind the man, striking him in the back and releasing his grip on Zero, making Zero fall to the ground. X took this distraction and shot the man, causing the man to crumple to the ground.

"Chill Penguin!" X exclaimed. "What're you doing here?"

"Ha! I just wanted to let you know that Sigma's on the move again!"

"Where is he?" Zero yelled.

"As if I would ever tell you!" Chill Penguin replied and ran off.

"Meet me in Antarctica!" Chill Penguin called over his shoulder.

X looked at Zero. "What do you mean?" X yelled.

Chill Penguin didn't reply. He just kept on running.

"X?" Roll asked quietly. "Do you think that Chill Penguin is also a Maverick?"

"Probably," Zero growled.

X walked over to the man in the brown cloak and turned him over onto his back.

"What is this thing?" X asked, disgruntled by its eyes with the spikes in them.

"I don't know," Zero replied. "But if I ever seen one again, I'm killing it from a distance."

"Yeah, what made you get so close, Zero?" Roll asked.

"I don't know. I just got angry," Zero replied.

"Just don't do it again. I don't want to see you hurt again, Zero," X said a little sadly.

"Hey, I think I got the better end of the deal last time," Zero said. "At least I didn't die."

X looked down. "Let's not think about that, okay?"

"I'm sorry. I guess I just got a little upset."

"X!" someone yelled into X's comlink. "Take care of that pink thing! It's eating all of our emergency supplies!"

X looked at Roll.

"What?" Roll asked.

"Kirby's eating the emergency supplies," X said flatly.

Roll blushed. "Oops."

* * *

><p>Okay, so I may be a little out of the canon time line.<p> 


	5. Trapped in Cappytown

"I just don't get it," Zero said. "Where did that creature come from?"

"I don't know," X replied, "maybe it came from the same place that Kirby came from."

"Poyo?" Kirby said.

Roll sadly patted Kirby on the head and received a happy exclamation from him. Roll smiled dismally.

"X?" Roll asked after a long pause. "Do you think that we should go through the portal?"

"No," X shook his head. "It seems like Sigma is back on the move again. We better take care of it."

"We know where Chill Penguin is," Zero said, "but we don't know where the others are, if any. I think that we should go after him."

Roll abruptly got up. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to go into that portal, you take care of Chill Penguin. There's a way out of that world, so just as long as I don't get lost, I'll be fine."

"But we don't know that world!" X exclaimed, getting up.

"It might be dangerous," Zero said.

"Yeah," she retorted sharply, "I'm sure you guys could have handled that brown cloaked man back there without my help."

X felt a twinge of pain run through his body. He knew she had special powers, but he still worried about her going alone. X groaned, not liking the situation.

"All right," he said. "You can go, but Zero's going with you."

"No way!" Roll cried. "I'm going by myself!"

"No, Roll!" Zero commanded. "You'll need help if you run into a man like that again!"

Roll looked defiantly at them and articulated, "I'm... going... by... my... self!"

"Poyo?" Kirby said, confused by the argument that was happening.

Roll looked down at Kirby, then at X and Zero, and got an idea. "I'll take Knuckle Joe!" she exclaimed.

"No!" X and Zero yelled.

"Why not?" Roll asked angrily.

"He attacked you!"

"He thought I was attacking Kirby!" Roll countered.

"No," X said, "I don't want to lose you! You're staying here where you'll be safe!"

Roll stammered for a bit, a tear rolling down her cheek. She walked towards the door and flung it open, slamming it into the wall. X and Zero peered out of the door, watching where she was heading. She stalked to her room, slamming the door close, and sat on her bed, letting the anger drain from her system. She sat there for a long time, staring at a picture of Zero, X, and her.

"Why don't I get to do anything?" she whined. "It's always X and Zero. They always get to fight mavericks and I don't."

She grabbed a bed post and tightly grabbed it as if she wanted to strangle X and Zero. She let go in a sigh of exasperation. An idea struck her as she sat there and grinned. A soft knock sounded on the door.

"Roll?" X said through the door. "I'm sorry you can't do what you wanted to do, but I'm just so scared of you going by yourself and I don't really like Knuckle Joe. First impressions are everything, you know? Maybe after he's around us for a little, you two can go. Just not right now. Okay?"

X waited for a reply, but received none. He sighed and walked towards the hanger where they kept his ride chaser. Roll pulled out her stash of pistachios, something that she kept for comfort food. She ate them, hoping that time would pass a lot quicker if she did. The time went slowly by. She checked the clock often. One minute, two minutes, three minutes. After waiting for five minutes, she put away her pistachios and walked out her door. She tried to keep her excitement to herself, but her fingers were noticeably outstretched in a weird way and would clench and unclench. She walked into the hanger and got on her ride chaser.

"Poyo!"

Roll nearly fell off the bike, grabbing onto the handle and pulling herself back on. She turned and looked at Kirby who was looking at her with a smile.

"Kirby, I can't take you with me! This could be dangerous!" she said.

"Poyo?" Kirby said, confused.

"Now stay here!" she commanded, starting up her ride chaser.

Kirby jumped onto the bike with an exclamation of glee, but Roll turned, her anger showing. "No, Kirby! I'm going alone!"

Kirby looked at her with a hurt expression and sadly hopped off. He turned and stood looking at her, his face showing hurt, but not anger. Roll's lip trembled and she gave in.

"All right," she sighed, patting the seat behind her, "you can come."

Kirby jumped up with a shout of happiness and started saying something, but Roll couldn't understand him.

"Hang on to me," she said.

Kirby apparently didn't understand because he never started to cling to her back.

"Kirby?" she asked, turning around.

Kirby sat on the seat with a big smile on his face.

"Uh, grab onto me Kirby," she repeated.

Kirby cocked his head and wore an expression of confusion.

"Grab onto my back, Kirby," she said again, getting a little frustrated.

"Kirby! Kirby!" Kirby exclaimed happily.

Roll slapped her face and groaned. "It's just like talking to a baby."

Kirby made worried sound and started to pat Roll's back.

"It's okay, Kirby," she said, a small smile gracing her face. "Maybe you are just a baby."

Roll got another idea and jumped off her ride chaser. Kirby jumped off and followed Roll as she walked to a cabinet that was in the hanger. She pulled out a rope and studied its length. It was a little long, but it was fine. She got on the ride chaser again with Kirby and tied him to her waist.

"Ready, Kirby?" she asked with a smile.

"Poyo!" Kirby exclaimed, his little hands waving in the air.

She drove up to the upward-sliding door that formed her part of the hanger and pushed a button. She waited for it to go sufficiently up and jetted out of there, heading for Dr. Light's laboratory. She ran into a bad traffic jam and waited impatiently for the jam to dissipate. Kirby grinned widely at the people he passed. She arrived at the laboratory and untied Kirby. She looked up at the window. Yes, the portal was still there. She made her way up the stairs, Kirby following her with little jumps. She opened the door to the portal and paused. The moment had arrived.

"_Should I really leave X and Zero like this?"_ she thought. _"I didn't even say goodbye."_

She remembered that they wouldn't bring her along with them against Chill Penguin. Her face contorted in anger and thought,_ "I'll show them that I'm not weak."_

She started to enter the portal, casting a glance behind her at the world she was leaving behind. Kirby followed her, happily running into it.

The portal was more like a swirling purple tunnel, devoid of anything. Roll followed Kirby and suddenly found herself in a strange world. They were on the top of a green hill and a town lay in front of her. It was late afternoon.

"Poyo!" Kirby exclaimed, delighted, skipping around in a circle.

Roll took a look behind her and gasped as she turned around. The portal was gone. Kirby tugged on her hand, trying to lead her into the town.

"X," she said, melancholy. "Zero. I'll be back before this day is done. I promise."

She let Kirby drag her into the town and she was greeted by some strange creatures that had black eyes and no feet. Their hands were their arms and lacked fingers. Somehow, though, they managed to grab stuff.

"Kirby!" one of them with a chef's hat and apron exclaimed, "I'll cook a special homecoming treat for you!"

The chef then looked at Roll, confused. "Who's your new friend, Kirby?"

"Poyo, Poyo!" Kirby replied.

The chef gave a small laugh and went inside a restaurant that he was standing next to. His restaurant, Roll assumed. Kirby ran inside and Roll followed hesitantly, some more of the strange creatures looking at her. She was just about to walk inside when she realized that she was taller than even the chef. She would have to stoop in order to fit inside the door. She did so and found herself in an Orient style restaurant. She had a little room to walk around without having to crouch in order to not hit her head on the ceiling, at least. Kirby was seated at one of the tables, eagerly awaiting his food. Roll decided to sit down as well, but then remembered that the tables would not be able to accommodate her.

The chef came out with a plate of food and set it down on the table. Roll looked around.

"_Why are there no people here?"_ she wondered.

She heard some slurping and looked at Kirby who was slurping his food instead of eating it. The food looked good, so she asked, "Kirby? Would you mind if I have a little bite?"

Kirby pushed the plate over and Roll took a spoonful of some soup.

"_What did I just eat?"_ Roll wondered. _"Tastes like I just ate something that doesn't taste like anything. Is all of the food like this?"_

She pushed the soup back to Kirby and he ate it whole heartedly. Two kids ran into the restaurant, though these kids were more normal than the other creatures. They had arms, hands, feet, and proper eyes, but lacked legs. One of them, a boy, had his hair draped over so that you couldn't see his eyes and wore some pants that had a strap over his right shoulder. The other kid, a girl, wore a dress and had her hair in a ponytail.

"Whoa," the boy remarked, stopping. "Who're you?"

"My name is Roll," Roll answered.

"I'm Tiff," the girl said, "and this is my brother, Tuff. How do you do?"

"I'm doing well, but, uh, where am I?"

"You're in Cappytown," the chef said, coming out of his kitchen.

"Oh," Tiff said, "that's chef Kawasaki. He owns this restaurant."

Kirby happily exclaimed and jumped out of his chair and jogged over to Tiff.

Tiff giggled and said, "I'm assuming you've met Kirby."

"Yep, I met him just yesterday."

"Where did you meet him?" Tiff asked.

"In Abel City."

"Abel City?" Tiff asked. "I've never heard of it. Where is it?"

Roll was reluctant to say the next words, afraid of what they would think of her. "On the other side of a portal."

"Portal?" Tuff asked.

"Yeah," Roll said slowly, "I found a portal in a building and it brought me to a hill."

"Can you show me this hill?" Tiff asked.

"Yeah, sure," Roll said and started to walk towards the door.

Before she got through the door, the chef called out, "Hey, Roll! You want some dinner before you leave?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks," she replied.

She turned and smashed her forehead on the doorframe. Tuff chuckled a bit and Tiff asked worriedly, "are you all right?"

"Yeah," Roll said, rubbing her face, "I'm fine."

She got through the door and led them to the hill. The sun was setting by the time they arrived. The portal was still not there.

"Uh, are you sure you weren't hallucinating?" Tuff asked.

"No, it was right here, but after I arrived, it disappeared," Roll said, moving around the spot where the portal was.

Kirby was playing with a butterfly and started to wander into a forest.

"Ugh, not again," Tuff groaned. "Kirby!" he yelled, chasing after Kirby.

Roll and Tiff also chased him, Roll leaving Tiff and Tuff behind. She tackled him to the ground and took him back to Tiff and Tuff.

"Ugh, Kirby!" Tiff exclaimed. "You know that the forest isn't safe!"

Kirby whined a little and looked at the ground.

"Uh, Tiff?" Tuff said. "I think we better go home now. It's getting kind of dark."

"You're right," Tiff said. "Say, Roll," she said, "do you have a place to stay?"

"Nope," Roll replied shortly.

"Do you wanna stay with us?"

Roll shrugged her shoulders and said, "Sure."

They got into the town at night and one of the creatures came up to them.

"Tiff, you better get back to your parents! They've been worried sick about you two!"

"Okay, thanks!" Tiff said and started to run through the streets.

"Who was that?" Roll asked as they ran though Roll was only jogging.

"That was the mayor's wife," Tuff replied.

They started to run up the path that sloped upwards to a castle when Roll said, "Hey, this will be better. Stop!"

They all stopped and Roll grabbed Tiff and Tuff.

"Tuff, can you ride on my back so that way I can grab Kirby?" she asked.

"Yep!" Tuff said and got onto her back.

Roll scooped Kirby into her free arm and ran all the way to the castle. They stood in front of the door, Roll panting for breath. Tuff jumped off her back and Roll set Tiff and Kirby on the ground.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Tuff ejaculated. "And I thought that Tiff could run fast when she's being chased!"

Tiff opened the door to the castle and headed through a passageway that led them to a living room that seemed to double as a diningroom.

"Tiff, darling!" Tiff's mother said, giving her a hug. "We were worried sick about you and your brother!"

"I say, who's this?" Tiff's father exclaimed, looking at Roll.

Roll towered over Tiff's father who was a little shorter than Kawasaki. Tiff's father's eyes were about to Roll's waist in height.

"This is Roll," Tiff said. "We met her just today."

"Oh, well, welcome to Cappytown, Roll," he said. "This is my wife, Lady Like, and I'm Sir Ebrum."

"Nice to meet you two, Sir Ebrum and Lady Like," Roll said, shaking hands with them both.

"So where are you from?" Lady Like asked, looking up in awe at Roll's height.

Tuff interrupted and said, "She's from Abel City!"

"Tuff!" Lady Like exclaimed. "Do not interrupt other people's answers!"

"I don't mind," Roll said, shrugging.

"Anyway, Mom," Tiff said, twiddling her thumbs, "we were wondering if we could provide a bed for Roll."

Sir Ebrum and Lady Like stared up at Roll apprehensively.

"I-I guess we could have a custom bed made for her," Sir Ebrum said, putting his hand on his chin.

"No, you don't have to do that," Roll said. "I can find somewhere else to sleep."

"How long do you plan to stay?" Lady Like asked.

"I don't know," Roll said, looking at the ground, thinking about the worry that X and Zero will have to endure when they come back and she is not back by then.

"Do you have money?" Sir Ebrum asked.

"Yes, but I don't know if it is valid here," Roll said dejectedly.

"What is it?" Sir Ebrum asked.

Roll pulled out a small electronic card with data transfer strips sticking out the bottom of it.

"I have two hundred zenny in here."

Sir Ebrum and Lady Like looked at it curiously. "You hold money in that thing like a credit card?"

"Credit card?" Roll asked.

Sir Ebrum pulled out his wallet and produced a credit card. Roll grabbed it and looked at it, fascinated.

"I think we actually had this about one thousand, three hundred years ago," Roll commented.

"One thousand, three hundred years ago?" the whole family exclaimed.

"You must be an advanced people!" Sir Ebrum exclaimed.

Roll blushed and lightly swiped her foot across the hardwood floor.

"Anyway," Sir Ebrum suddenly announced, "maybe I should get that custom bed made."

Sir Ebrum walked out the door and headed down to the castle carpenter. Roll stood there in the room awkwardly, aware that she was really tall compared to the family.

"I'm gonna walk around," Roll abruptly said and walked out the door.

Kirby shouted gleefully and started to follow her. Roll didn't care, just as long as none of the others came along with her. She made her way through the castle, getting a little lost. The little creatures that somewhat looked like Kirby stared at her, just making her more uncomfortable. She breathed a sigh of relief when she had gotten out of the castle. She made her way around the perimeter of the town with Kirby happily skipping behind her. She was surprised when she realized that she had gone to the top of a tall hill. The stars glittered in the sky.

"So many," Roll commented, amazed. "We've never had so many in Abel City."

She sat down on the grass and just stared at the stars. Kirby sat down beside her and she smiled at him.

"Is this your hometown?" she asked.

Kirby didn't reply, instead, he just smiled. Roll looked back at the sky, remembering that Kirby might just be a baby.

"Are you ready?" a voice asked, startling Roll.

Roll looked behind her and scooted backwards on the ground away from the voice. Something dark slowly floated towards her. It seemed to have a cape that had two prongs on either side. Kirby turned around and leaped to his feet, his demeanor completely changed to readiness. Roll got up, switching to her elec orb power. The figure stopped, paused, and burst out laughing.

"Do you simpletons really think that you can defeat me? I am fear itself! I'm afraid, Kirby, that not even you could destroy me completely."

It then started laughing again. Kirby's face fell, as if he realized something. He poked Roll's leg and moaned. Roll ignored him, preparing a charged elec orb. The figure looked at Roll and laughed again.

"Do not trouble yourself! I am far too powerful to be killed!"

"We'll see about that!" Roll yelled, sending her orb hurtling right into the figure.

Electricity spread all over it, but it barely flinched.

"Good heavens, I think I've been bitten by a fly!" it said, laughing even louder.

"Poyo!" Kirby called, some yards away from Roll. "Poyo, poyo!"

Roll looked at Kirby, then at the figure. She turned around and started to run as Kirby ran.

"It is futile to run from me," the figure said.

Roll felt a light touch on her neck and her legs started to give out. She ran to the side, but the touch was still there. Steeling her resolve, she tried to push on, but soon fell to the ground, too weak to run. The figure loomed close, its cape drawn around it.

"As I've said, it is futile to run from me, and it is futile to fight me."

The figure put his fingers across from each other and a red orb appeared in the space between his them.

"Take this, and your health will be restored!"

The orb started to move towards Roll. She weakly tried to drag herself away, but the orb dissolved in her skin. Instantly, her strength returned and she picked herself up. The figure chuckled and then broke out in a powerful laugh. The figure gradually faded away, leaving Roll alone.

* * *

><p>Tell me what you think please. If you've ever watched "Here comes the son" on "Kirby: Right Back at Ya!", you'll have an idea of what happens next.<p> 


	6. Battle with Meta Knight

Lady Like was sewing while Tuff watched Hunker D, a TV show that Tiff hates. Then again, she doesn't like anything from King Dedede. Tiff was in the library, looking something up when Sir Ebrum came through the door to the living room.

"Uh, where's Roll?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Yeah! Get em' Hunker D!" Tuff yelled.

"Roll said that she was going to walk around," Lady Like said.

"Ehh, I hope she doesn't get attacked," Sir Ebrum said, sitting down and picking up a newspaper.

"Why would she?" Lady Like asked. "Just as long as she doesn't wander by the forest, she'll be fine."

"I hope she knows that," Sir Ebrum said.

"Yeah, she knows," Tuff said while throwing his fists around.

The door flew open and a tubby penguin stood in the doorway.

"Well! Word has reached my kingly ear that we have a visitor!" it said.

"King Dedede!" Lady Like exclaimed. "When will you learn to knock?"

"The king doesn't need to knock!" a snail interjected, crawling past King Dedede. "It's his castle, he can do whatever he wants!"

"Sorry, your majesty," Sir Ebrum began, putting down his newspaper, "but our visitor is gone. She wanted to walk around."

"Doesn't she know that she needs to pay royalities to her king?" King Dedede asked, putting his fists on his hips.

"She's actually not from here," Sir Ebrum said. "She's from another world."

The snail and Dedede looked at each other and then looked back at the family.

"Well, just tell the visitor that her King demands a visit," Dedede said hotly before walking out with the snail and the door slamming shut.

Meta Knight leapt down from a ledge next to the room and walked back to his chambers. He found Sword and Blade sitting on a bed.

"Sword! Blade!" Meta Knight exclaimed. "We must check to see if the new visitor is all right."

"A new visitor?" Sword asked, getting down.

"Yes. Follow me!" Meta Knight said, turning around and walking out the door.

Roll walked firmly down the hill, a small grin on her face.

"_Roll, do you know your mission?" _a voice asked in her mind.

"_Yes, I know,"_ she replied.

She stopped. Something was there. In the forest... and getting closer. She prepared her Guts form, her arms and legs throbbing with energy.

"_Are hybrids available?"_ she asked herself.

She searched her attacks and tried to merge Guts and Elec forms. Failed. She frowned. Meta Knight, Sword, and Blade ascended the hill, meeting with her face to face. She looked at them calmly.

"Are you the new visitor?" Meta Knight asked.

"What does it matter to you?" Roll asked.

"Miss?" Blade asked. "You all right?"

Roll's lips formed into a small, corrupted, lopsided smile. "Wonderful."

Meta Knight, aware of her corrupted state, pulled out Galaxia, the blade forming from electricity and solidifying into a metal blade. Sword and Blade pulled out their swords, ready to fight.

"Aw," Roll said, pretending to cower, "you wouldn't hit a girl, now would you?"

"Roll, you do not know what you are doing," Meta Knight said in his Spanish accent. "You've been affected by Nightmare Enterprises."

Roll shrugged. "So? Feels nice."

"I warn you," Meta Knight said, "the first time someone was affected like this, he did not survive. Turn back now while you still can. Kirby is not here to help you."

Roll switched to her Guts Man mode. "Sorry." She smashed her foot into the ground and kicked as a boulder was forced out of the ground. The boulder smashed into where Meta Knight, Sword, and Blade were standing and Roll laughed out loud. "Wimps." She gasped in pain and toppled forward as a blade struck her in the back She rolled on the ground and stood up quickly, switching to her Elec form and desperately fired off shots of electricity to fend off the unseen attacker. Blades encircled her and beat her around.

"What's going on?" she yelled. "I'm supposed to be the most powerful reploid!" She changed to her Cold Blast and shot shards of ice all around her, sounds of pain reaching her ears, which satisfied her. Now she could see them. She jumped through the air and charged a sharp icicle. Blade appeared out of nowhere and she immediately changed to her Fire Wave and unleashed it. Blade toppled to the ground behind her. Roll grinned. The icicle wouldn't have hit. It was too concentrated. She saw Sword out of the corner of her eye as he lunged at her and dashed out of the way, narrowly avoiding the blade. She looked at Sword as he landed on the ground and turned back to look straight ahead. Her eyes widened as Galaxia swung at her legs. She tried to jump over it but it caught her shins and she toppled over, yelling in pain as electricity surged through her circuitry. Her system started to complain of high energy flows and she thought, "This is the end, isn't it? Why am I doing this anyway?" Meta Knight stood over her holding Galaxia in a defensive stance. The energy flow started to return to normal but there was some damage. Mainly, she couldn't move her legs. She propped herself up on her arms and looked at Meta Knight. "What... happened?" she asked slowly.

Meta Knight kept Galaxia unsheathed but answered, "That is the power of N.M.E."

Roll made an attempt to stand up but it was useless. Even trying to stand up hurt her spine. "Help me?" she asked after trying a few more times to stand up. Meta Knight nodded and called Sword and Blade over to drag her back to Cappytown, Meta Knight leading in front, his yellow eyes looking around for any sign of N.M.E. or any of his minions. They dragged her into the castle and into Meta Knight's room, leaving about a foot of space lengthwise for Roll to lie down. Blade pulled out a medical kit and was about to wrap a bandage around her when he caught a glimpse of inside the wound.

"Metal?" he asked.

"Huh?" Roll said, looking over at him. Blade pointed at her wound and she said, "Um, yeah... can you bandage it?"

"You have metal underneath your skin," Blade said.

"Oh," Roll said. "Must've completely skipped my mind to tell you that I'm made entirely of metal and other substances. I'm not human or... whatever you guys are."

"Reminds me of Masher," Sword commented and Blade nodded in agreement.

"Masher?" Roll asked. "What's that?"

"Masher was a robot that Knuckle Joe and Kirby took on!" Sword said, remembering how Knuckle Joe had pretended to work with N.M.E. to have them use Masher to finish Kirby off.

"Apparently they know about robots," Roll thought. "Do you think you can bandage me, at least?" she asked.

"You need it?" Blade said. The appearance of Blade was kinda creepy since he had no eyes or face. The fact that Sword and Blade had no legs either was kinda creepy too, now that Roll thought about it. The others were more tolerable without any legs.

Roll shrugged and said, "It helps." Blade nodded and started to wrap up her wounds in silence. Roll looked around and decided to ask Meta Knight, "So how did you guys whack me around like that?"

"We are trained knights," Meta Knight explained, keeping his cape tightly around him.

"And he's a _Star_ Warrior!" Sword exclaimed, emphasizing the word "Star".

"Star Warrior?" Roll asked, cocking her head to the side. "Is that an elite warrior?"

"The Star Warriors are a band of soldiers sworn to fight against N.M.E., but you could say that we are elite. Kirby is a Star Warrior," Meta Knight replied.

"Really?" she asked. "But's he just like a little kid!"

"Kirby has improved much but is still comparable to a child," Meta Knight said.

"So he can fight?" Roll had to mull that over in her mind. It was just too incomprehensible to think about. A kid... fighting? Doesn't make sense unless he was a reploid that was built to not have the intelligence of a kid."

"Very much so. It was Kirby that took down N.M.E. but it appears that N.M.E. never did truly die," Meta Knight said, turning to look at some weapons on the side of the wall. Blade finished bandaging Roll and she stood up a little too quickly and hit her head on the ceiling.

"Gotta remember that," she said, rubbing her head. "Thanks, guys!" She opened the door with one hand while waving goodbye with the other.

She walked out into the corridors of the castle, the only place that she had been in that she could actually fit in. She stretched her limbs, grateful to be out of that small room.

"Roll!" Tiff exclaimed, running as fast as she could down. Roll turned and waved at her.

"What's up, Tiff?" Roll asked.

"King Dedede wants to talk to you. Might as well get it over with as soon as possible," Tiff said, frowning a little bit as she said it. "What happened to you?"

"I'll tell you about it later," Roll said. "Mind if you show me to him?"

Tiff nodded and led the way to the King's throne room. The giant doors opened easily and without squeaking, revealing a large room with a throne almost at the opposite side. To Roll, it was about the size of a large bedroom. King Dedede was taller than Sir Ebrum, but was still shorter than Roll.

"You wished to see me, your Majesty?" she asked, bowing.

"Maybe Tiff could learn something from this newcomer," the snail, Escargoon, whispered to King Dedede.

King Dedede nodded and said, "Well, you have a name, girl?" in his usual tone.

"My name's Roll," Roll replied.

King Dedede got up and started to walk towards her. "Where're you from?"

"Earth," Roll said simply, not sure if that means that she's from this planet. "What planet is–?"

"Answer the question, nothing more," Escargoon interrupted, making Roll frown.

"Listen, snail, I could whip you any day! Don't interrupt me!" Roll exclaimed, losing her temper.

"AHHHHH! GUARDS!" Escargoon yelled and a bunch of the creatures that showed a resemblance to Kirby appeared out of the corridors that connected to the throne room.

"Simmer down, Escargoon," Dedede said, pushing Escargoon out of the way. "I'm sure that our _honored_ guest here is just tired. Why don't you go rest for the night?"

Roll bowed again and said, "Thank you, King Dedede." The guards parted as she turned and walked out of the room. Though imperceptible to Tiff's ears, Roll could hear the suppressed chuckle of King Dedede.

"What is he planning?" Roll thought as Tiff led her down to her new room.

The room was small and mostly filled by Roll's bed, leaving very little room for anything else besides an empty drawer and a chandelier that touched an inch of Roll's hat.

"It isn't much, but we'll get a bigger room for you and more clothes," Tiff said. "We'll have the tailor come by in the morning."

Roll sat down on the bed, its softness making her smile. She bounced slightly on it and said, "It's so soft!"

Tiff giggled and said, "Once we have more time, we'll make the bed more elaborate. Well... that is... if you plan on staying here for a while."

Roll's expression dropped. "Don't get me wrong, Tiff. I like the people here, but I have friends in my world too."

Tiff nodded. "That's understandable, but..." She hesitated.

"But what?" Roll asked, looking tenderly at Tiff.

"Could you visit every once in a while?" Tiff finished.

"I... don't know," Roll said slowly. "Not even I know how I got here. There was a portal, but I wasn't the one that opened it. Once I got here, it closed behind me. In fact, I don't know when I'll be able to leave here."

Tiff nodded sadly. "I wonder if Mr. Curio would know. He's a big history fanatic so maybe he'd know about portals and how to open them."

Roll nodded and smiled. "Maybe. If I could open portals and transfer them anywhere, I'd have my two brothers over here as soon as possible." She winced. Megaman and Proto... Zero... didn't even know that she was their sister. "What's the name of this world anyway?"

"Popstar," Tiff replied. Roll stifled a laugh, but it still partially came out. "Okay, it's a silly name." Roll tried to stop from yawning, but it came out anyway. "All right," Tiff said good-naturedly. "You can go to sleep now. See you tomorrow!" Tiff left and Roll got into her bed.

"Wonder what'll happen tomorrow," she said to herself. "When will I get home?"

She started to think of the antics with Megaman and Protoman that she had with them in the present and the past. She smiled before dropping off to sleep.


	7. Escape

"Rollllllllll... Rolllll... Roll!"

"WHAAA!" Roll yelled as she got up with a start and Tuff broke out laughing. "Don't do that!"

"But it was so funny!" Tuff said as he grabbed his stomach while still laughing.

Roll grunted and put on an angry face, but, inwardly, she was smiling. Kids... "Any reason why you got me up?"

"It's time for breakfast," Tuff said, still chuckling. "Apparently King Dedede's put out a feast in your honor!"

Roll knit her eyebrows together. "A feast?" This couldn't be good considering King Dedede's chuckles last night.

"Are you okay?" Tuff asked.

"Yeah... I am," Roll said as she unknit her eyebrows and stood up carefully to avoid hitting her head.

"Follow me, all right? Once we're done with breakfast, we'll get you some new clothes by our tailor," Tuff said as he started to walk away.

Roll followed him, readying her Guts form if Dedede should try anything. They walked into the throne room, now transformed into a dinner hall.

"Well, girly! Glad you could be a part of this here as our guest of honor!" King Dedede exclaimed from his throne at the end of the table. "Please, sit down next to me."

"Do I really have to?" Roll whispered down to Tuff.

"Yeah, you better," Tuff replied.

Roll groaned slightly and sat down in the chair that was on a different side of the table, but as close to King Dedede as possible. This was not going to go down well. She searched for escape routes, but every escape route could have those kirby-like creatures hiding in them.

"Roll? The king asked you a question," Sir Ebrum said.

"Huh, what?" Roll said, turning her attention to King Dedede.

"How long do you plan on staying, girly?" Dedede asked.

The nerve of this guy... "I'm not sure. I'll be leaving as soon as I can."

"Will you be staying long enough for some entertainment tonight?" King Dedede asked.

Roll raised an eyebrow and concealed the suspicious look that had started to creep onto her face. "What entertainment?"

"Oh, just a little thing that I and Escargoon whipped up," King Dedede said and then added with a whisper, "It's a surprise."

"I'm sorry, your majesty, but I must decline," Roll said. He was up to something.

"How dare you refuse something that the King proposes!" Escargoon exclaimed, slightly waving his fist at her.

"There's a dish back on Earth that we call Escargot..." Roll said, putting on a thoughtful face while looking fiendishly at Escargoon.

"OHHH! SIRE!" Escargoon exclaimed as he hid behind King Dedede.

"I'm... hurt by your refusal," King Dedede said as he sagged.

"Aw, great..." Roll thought as she frowned slightly. King Dedede kinda looked like something that could be squished and hugged tightly now that he looked like this. "I guess... I can..." she said slowly and King Dedede instantly brightened up.

"You won't be sorry! We'll have you so amaze-ed, that you won't know what hit you!" King Dedede exclaimed.

"I'm sure I won't," Roll said, a little of an edge in her voice.

The rest of the breakfast continued without much conversation on Roll's side. Mainly 'yes', 'no', and gestures.

Once it was done, Roll got up, pushed her chair back in, and left, Tiff and Tuff on her heels.

"Don't forget about the tailor!" Tiff said.

Roll sighed. "Do I really have to?"

"At least two changes of clothing," Tiff pleaded, trying to make herself as cute as possible.

Roll laughed and said, "All right. Lead the way."

Tiff smiled and led Roll down to a large room where racks of dresses, suits, and other clothes hung.

"I don't want a dress," Roll said.

"We're just going to copy the ones you have on you right now, okay?" Tiff asked.

"Good." Dresses were never really something she liked...

A tailor came out of a door in the room and stopped, his eyes wide.

"Goodness! You didn't tell me she was this tall!" the tailor exclaimed, making Roll blush and lower her head.

"I thought I did," Tiff said. "Are you sure you were listening?"

"Now that I think about it, I think you _did_ mention it, but I was already thinking of designs," the tailor said. "Hold on for a second while I go get a ladder."

"You know, you guys don't really have to do this," Roll said. Sooooo awkward... "I'm fine. I've got some at home."

"But you don't know when you're going back home, right?" Tiff asked as Tuff left the room.

Roll sighed. "No, I don't. I just feel really awkward about everyone commenting on how tall I am."

"I see..." Tiff said as she adopted a thoughtful pose. "Probably once everyone sees you, they'll eventually stop talking about it."

"I hope so," Roll said as the tailor came back out with a ladder and set it up.

"Tiff, can you hand me my measuring tape?" the tailor asked as he pointed at a tailor's measuring tape that was sitting on a desk.

"Yeah, sure," Tiff said as she grabbed it and gave it to him. "Here you go."

"Now you want something exactly like this?" the tailor asked. "Jumpsuit, shirt, pants, shoes, and hat?"

"Roll?" Tiff said.

"Yeah. That'll be fine, but you don't need to copy the hat," Roll said.

"Mind taking off your shoes?" the tailor asked.

Roll nodded and took them off. "May I ask why?"

"I just need to see where your jumpsuit begins and ends. I'm guessing it ends at around your collarbone, correct?" the tailor said.

"Yeah," Roll replied. "How long will it take to create my clothes?"

"How many do you want?" the tailor asked calmly as he measured Roll.

"Just two copies. That's all," Roll said.

"It'll take about a week," the tailor said and Roll nodded.

Hopefully she wouldn't be here for a week...

"Tiff, is there a training room?" Roll asked.

"Excuse me?" Tiff said.

"You know... like for soldiers?" Roll asked.

Tiff looked at Roll inquisitively. "Um, yes?"

"Can I use it?" Roll asked.

Tiff scratched her head and said, "Well, um, that's just for the Waddle-Dees."

"Waddle-Dees?" Roll said and Tiff nodded.

"Those little creatures... the round ones."

"The ones that kinda resemble Kirby?" Roll asked, making Tiff giggle.

"Yeah, but they're not so cute," Tiff said.

Roll frowned. "So it's just for Waddle-Dees?" Tiff nodded. "Why? Are they afraid someone will do better than them?"

Tiff burst out laughing and said, "No, it's just that the Waddle-Dees are King Dedede's personal soldiers. The training area is just for them."

Roll frowned again. She had a proposition to make, but given the way that King Dedede was acting, it might not be the best...

"So what can we do around here?" Roll asked.

"Well..." Tiff tapped her foot on the ground as the tailor started to choose out the colors. "We have some sports here like soccer, but I doubt we'd be a challenge against you."

"What if you had a bunch of people against me?" Roll asked.

"That would just make me feel ridiculous. There isn't a lot of honor in that, you know? It'd have to be like ten against one or something like that," Tiff said.

"You've got a point there," Roll said as the tailor pulled out a bunch of sample colors. "Um, what're you doing?"

"Just wanted to see if you wanted any color besides red or besides the particular shade of red that you have," the tailor said.

"Ummmmm..." Roll looked through the different shades, ignoring the other colors. "I like the one I have."

"Okay, suit yourself," the tailor said with a shrug as he put the samples away. "That is all. You can leave now."

"Thank you," Roll said as she walked out the door. "Tiff? Can we go back to the hill?"

Tiff sighed. "Homesick?" Roll nodded.

"I don't like being away from my brothers for too long," Roll said as they slowly made their way out of the palace. "Plus, I don't trust King Dedede."

"Who does?" Tiff asked. "I don't like him. He tries to mess up everything about Cappytown and the landscape around it."

Roll shrugged. "What has he done?"

"He tore up the forest, might have caused junk to be dumped on top of us, and just hates Kirby," Tiff said, her anger rising with each reason. "Not only that, he was working with N.M.E.!"

Roll shuddered. One encounter with N.M.E. was one too many. "So Kirby defeated N.M.E.?"

Tiff nodded. "Yeah, he did, but there's still some more monsters out there. I don't know why, though."

"I bet I know," Roll muttered.

"What did you say? I didn't catch it," Tiff said.

"Nothing," Roll said as she waved it off.

They walked towards the hill in silence, Roll desperately hoping that the portal would be there. They got to the top and Roll frowned sadly.

"I... was hoping..." she began.

Tiff sighed. "I wish I could help you, Roll."

Roll shook her head. "It's okay... I was just hoping..."

Roll sat down on the ground, wondering if she'd ever make it back.

"Hey!" Tiff exclaimed, making Roll tumble over backwards. "Oops. Sorry. I was just thinking, maybe we could research it?"

Roll smiled broadly. "That's genius! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Let's go!" Tiff said as she started to run back to the castle.

"Here we go!" Roll said as she scooped Tiff onto her shoulders and took off towards the castle.

It wasn't long before they were basically tearing down the library in search of a book that knew about portals.

"Got it!" Tiff exclaimed after scanning a book's pages.

"What's it say?" Roll asked.

"It says, that 'portals are rare occurrences, but can be made to appear. The most common is used by N.M.E...'."

Roll lowered her head and shook it. "I don't want to go to N.M.E." Not again...

Tiff sighed. "Maybe we could ask Meta Knight? Or Knuckle Joe?"

"Knuckle Joe is still in our world," Roll pointed out.

"Still?" Tiff asked. "Maybe Meta Knight would have an idea?"

"Like what?" Meta Knight asked from a shelf.

Roll stumbled backwards from the surprise and fell over a library cart filled with books.

"Does he always do that?" Roll asked as Tiff helped her up.

"You mean the sudden entrance? Yeah," Tiff whispered.

"Oh, okay," Roll whispered back, a sly grin on her face as she picked up her hat and set it back on her head. "I'll get him for it eventually."

Tiff giggled as Meta Knight dropped from his perch.

"Anyway, do you know how N.M.E. activates portals?" Tiff asked Meta Knight.

Meta Knight remained silent for a while, making Roll tighten her muscles. Did he not know?

"Inside of N.M.E., the short man that handles the server activates the portals. That might be a way."

"The short man?" Roll asked.

"He's the one that handled all of the transactions between N.M.E. and King Dedede," Tiff explained.

"Oh," Roll said simply. "So I need to use this control panel thing?" Meta Knight nodded. "How do I get in there?"

"The King has a large, hidden receiver that he used to get his monsters. The button to activate this is on his chair," Meta Knight said.

"Okay... So where is the receiver?" Roll asked.

"It's underneath the floor of the throne room," Meta Knight said. "Press the button and the receiver will come out. Stand on the receiver and press the button to the side of the one that activated the receiver to make it go."

Oooh, the look on the king's face once he sees what happens! Roll grinned.

"Let's do this," Roll said. "Meta Knight, if you can press the button to make the thing go, I would be sooooo grateful!"

"I'm supposed to be the King's servant. I cannot do such a thing," Meta Knight said resolutely.

"I'll do it! Anything to help Roll!" Tiff exclaimed.

"Awww, thanks, Tiff!" Roll said, grinning.

That night, Roll readied herself mentally for the duty. Hopefully, nothing would go wrong...

"Roll! Dinner!" Tuff yelled as he ran past her door.

Roll sighed. Show time... She walked out of her door, readying her ninja armor. It might come in handy. It was the only thing that granted stealth abilities as well as fast attacks. She didn't need anything that dealt a lot of damage. That would be a waste of time. She walked into the dining room, Waddle-Dees surrounding the room with trays of food.

Apparently this was supposed to be the preliminaries to the King's special surprise. King Dedede was in his crown as well as his other royal clothes. This night would go down with a bang.

"On the night of this special occasion, I would like to propose a toast," King Dedede called out as Roll started to reach out towards her cup. A sigh escaped her. Speeches... "A toast to me, for being the great king I am."

"Cheers!" the others shouted as they lifted their glasses.

"Cheers," Roll said grimly, readying a steel ball that was on the end of a string.

"And a toast to our special guest!" King Dedede exclaimed.

"Cheers!" everyone exclaimed, the ball swinging around Roll's finger as she flicked her hand until it hit the button on the king's chair.

"Whoops!" Roll said mischievously as the lights dimmed and the table rose as the receiver began to rise.

"What's happening?" Lady Like asked as she clutched Sir Ebrum.

"What do you think you're doing, girly?" King Dedede asked as he slammed on the button.

Roll grabbed his hand and pressed the button again as she snarled at him.

"I'M... GOING... HOME!" she said as she shoved King Dedede and Escargoon away and got out of her chair. "EVERYBODY MOVE!"

Everyone scrambled away from the table as Roll grabbed its edge and threw it effortlessly to the side. She jumped on top of the receiver as King Dedede scrambled to his chair.

"Bye, King Dedede," Roll said smugly as Tiff hit the transfer button.

"No!" King Dedede exclaimed as he reached out to her.

Lights enveloped her as she stood, looking cooly at the king... was that a smile on his face? She didn't have much time to inspect as she appeared into a room. There, next to a screen, was the control panel... and a ridiculously short man sitting at it. Before he could do anything, Roll flew at him and threw him out of the chair.

"You fool!" Roll stiffened, but continued to browse through the planets in the 'E' section. "Do you really think you can return to your own world without me pursuing you?"

"Yep!" Roll said as she set the coordinates and fired up the transmitter.

"I will never truly leave you!" N.M.E.'s voice broke out into a dark cackle as something black flew at her face.

She hit the thing, but her arm seemed to go right through. Just stop N.M.E. from following her, at least. She can deal with this later. She activated her ninja armor and threw a flurry of shurikens into the control panel a second before she vanished, the black thing mysteriously gone.

"Roll! No, please, no!"

"Megaman?" Roll asked weakly. What just happened? Why was she feeling so... pitifully weak?

"Oh, Roll, I'm glad you're safe," X said as he cradled her head in his arms. "I can't lose you. Not after Zero."

"Huh? What happened to Zero?" Roll asked, finally looking X in the face.

X sniffed and bowed his head, tears rolling down his face. "He... sacrificed himself. To save me from Vile."

"How long have I been gone?" Roll asked. It couldn't have been that long... she was only gone for about one day... wasn't she?

"It's been about seven months," X said. "Since his death."

"Seven months?" Roll asked. "I've only been gone for a day!"

X shook his head slowly. "Can you stand?"

"A little?" Roll said with a grimace.

"Come on," X said as he helped her up, Roll's legs feeling like they would give out underneath her. "You've been gone for seven months, Roll."

"That _can't_ be. I was only gone for a day," Roll insisted.

"You went into the portal, didn't you?" X asked, giving her a slightly accusing stare.

Roll bowed her head. "Yeah, I did." X groaned in frustration. "I was curious!"

"But you disobeyed me, Roll," X said, gentleness coming into his face. "I was worried sick that you were dead!"

Roll gasped silently. She didn't think she would be gone for so long... "X, I'm sorry," she said as she held him tightly and let the tears flow. She didn't want to hurt Megaman. Even if he didn't remember their past lives.

"Let's go home," X said and Roll nodded.


	8. Departure

The ball rolled back and forth, back and forth, Roll sighing as she picked it up and put it in her pocket. Life was... difficult now that Zero was gone. Only a little communication went between her and X in the few days that had passed. At the least, Knuckle Joe was released, but, so far, the portal hadn't opened yet. Figures. If N.M.E. was behind the portal, then it'd be down until they repaired that control panel.

Roll got up from the chair and walked out of her room, her head bowed. The people here had learned to avoid her, apparently. Probably because they knew that no conversation would really come out. That and she seemed slightly more aggressive than normal. Something that not even _she_ understood.

She wandered around the building aimlessly, her hands stuffed into her pockets. Why did Zero have to die? Could she have saved him if she had stayed and possibly if X and Zero let her come with them?

"Roll! Roll!" X shouted as he ran down the corridor, a smile on his face.

"Yes, X?" Roll asked as she raised her head slightly.

"Dr. Cain says that there's a way to bring Zero back!" X exclaimed as he stopped next to her. "If we gather all of his parts, put him back together, and if his programming is undamaged, he'll come back the same!"

Roll brightened up and let out a squeal. X covered his ears to help protect his artificial ears from the high pitched squeal.

"Sorry," Roll said, covering her mouth with her hands. "So that's all that we need to do?"

X's smile faded away and he shook his head. "No. I need to find them before some of these other guys called the Counter Hunters or X-Hunters. If they find the parts first... I don't know what'll happen."

Roll's head bowed once more and she scuffed her foot on the floor.

"Do you think Sigma's behind this?" Roll asked, not entirely sure of her question.

"No," X said as he shook his head. "He's dead. These mavericks are just a rogue group. There's no affiliation with Sigma."

"Just let me come with you, okay?" Roll pleaded. "It'll go better with two people."

"Roll... I've already lost Zero because he sacrificed himself," X said as he put his hand gently on Roll's shoulder. "I don't want to lose you."

"But I have combat abilities! What about the guy in the brown cloak?" Roll exclaimed desperately.

"Roll, no," X said firmly. "If you die, I... I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

"Maybe I won't die! Have you ever thought about what would happen to me if YOU died?" Roll retorted.

X sighed. "As long as I have protected those that cannot defend themselves, my purpose is complete."

Roll sniffed. Why did he have to be so... unafraid? Unafraid to die for others?

"Have you ever wondered if you push yourself too much?" Roll asked.

X shook his head. A valid question, but one not to back away from. "I have wondered that, but then I remember my training and my creation. I fight for justice. I fight for hope. As long as Mavericks are here, I will not rest. I won't let myself die."

"What if that's not enough?" Roll asked. "Even if you have the will, you can still die! You don't become invincible!"

"I know that," X said calmly. "But I believe that it will help me. If I believe in a good cause, I will have help."

"Maybe I am that help, Megaman!" Roll exclaimed. Sheesh. This guy just doesn't want help does he? "Maybe together, we can save everyone! You've seen me fight! I'm a Class B Hunter, making my way to Class A!"

"Roll, no," X said sternly. "I'm not going to endanger you. Zero was a Class SA and he still died!"

"Because he sacrificed himself to save you!" Roll returned.

"I don't want you to sacrifice yourself as well, Roll! I don't want to lose anyone else!" Roll tried to say more, but X cut her off. "It's over, Roll! This conversation is finished and the answer is that you can't go with me!"

Roll groaned angrily and kicked X in the shin before stalking off.

"Fine then! Go and die trying to save the world!" Roll yelled over her shoulder.

Roll shut the door to her room, the door resounding with a bang. She took off her cap and ran her hand through her hair before placing the cap back on.

"X, why do you never let me go?" Roll asked herself as she bounced her ball across the walls vigorously. "It's so dumb! He's gonna get himself killed out there. Then he'll be sorry. He'll be sorry that he didn't bring me along." She paused for a second, thinking over what she had just said. She frowned and raised an eyebrow. Why was she acting like this? Maybe she was a little too harsh with X... He was just looking after her, that's all.

"X?" she asked quietly as she poked her head out of the slightly ajar door. "X?" she repeated as she walked out into the halls, her hands stuffed inside of her pockets. It was strangely quiet. "X? Dr. Cain? Anyone?"

_Everyone has a dark side..._

Roll whirled around, grazing through her different weapons. "Who are you?"

_I am your dark side..._

Roll took a step back. "Where are you?" she growled.

_Keep moving..._

"Not until you're dead," Roll said.

_You can't kill what you can't touch._

Roll groaned angrily. Apparently there wasn't any choice. She would have to follow what it said for now. She kept walking down the hall, looking for anyone to come. "X?" she called out, her voice echoing through the corridors. "X, I'm sorry! Just come out, okay?"

_You? You're sorry?_

"Quiet," Roll muttered. "I'm going to make things right."

_Tell me when you want to see everything, okay?_

"And what can you do?" Roll asked. What in the world could this thing even do?

_Maybe if you do what I'll tell you, I'll keep everything from disappearing like it is now._

"I doubt you have anything to do with this," Roll said. What if it was right?

_You know that you believe that I can actually do this. I know that you know... Tell you what... I'll let go. Tell me when you want to talk, okay?_

Roll stopped. "Um, okay?" Creep...

_I'm not a creep._

Roll groaned angrily and continued on her way. This was probably that black thing that had attacked her.

"Ooop! Sorry!" she exclaimed as people suddenly appeared around her and as she bumped into someone.

"Roll? Where did you come from? I didn't see you," the reploid said as he picked up his books.

Roll chuckled nervously. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Still working on your stealth, I guess?" the reploid said as he walked away.

Roll chuckled again before continuing on her way. "X?" she asked as she peeked into his room.

"Yes, Roll?" X asked as he sat on his bed, slouching as he looked at a picture of him, Roll, and Zero.

"Hey, um, sorry about your, uh, shin..." Roll said articulately as she sat down next to him. "I kind of, uh, lost myself there."

X sighed. "That's the thing I don't understand. Why are you so aggressive? This never happened until you went into the portal."

Roll looked sadly down at her feet. "Maybe... there's just things are just going out of whack for me?"

X nodded. "If you really want to, if you think it'll help blow off some of the aggression, you can come with me."

Would that be best? The creature probably feeds off of aggression. It loves aggression. It was making her more aggressive, after all. It made sense to her. Was there any way to get rid of it?

Roll sighed. "No... you better go by yourself... I'm sorry. I think that would just make it worse."

X nodded slowly. "O...kay. Just let me know if you want to come with me. I'm about to head off to my mission, okay?"

"I'm not going," Roll repeated, slightly sad. "I just... can't."

X nodded again. "Take care of Knuckle Joe, okay? I think he's a little lonely," he said as he stood up.

"Okay," Roll said as he left. The door shut behind him and soon the hanger door opened, signaling that X was leaving. Roll sighed and got up. "Time to go see where he went," Roll said as she walked out the door.

She walked around, looking for Knuckle Joe. It took about a half-hour before Roll stopped and put her hands on her hips.

"Where could he be?" she said quietly.

"Who?" someone asked as stopped walking.

"Knuckle Joe," Roll explained.

"The short little guy?" the reploid asked, tilting her head. "With blond hair?"

Roll nodded excitedly. "Yes! Have you seen him?"

The person stood in a thoughtful pose, but finally shook her head. "I know he went to the training session, but that ended fifteen minutes ago."

Roll sagged slightly. "Okay... Thanks," she said before continuing her search.

Another half-hour passed before she sagged onto her Ride Chaser.

"Where could such a little guy go?" she asked herself. "Maybe he went back to see if the portal was back open?" She sighed as her Ride Chaser revved to life. "If N.M.E.'s there, he's going to be in big trouble."

She ran up the stairs of the Light Building, not checking to see if there was a portal. It was pretty certain that Knuckle Joe went here.

"Joe!" she yelled as she tackled him before he could disappear into the portal.

"What're you doing?" he shouted, trying to push her off of him.

"Don't go in there! It'll lead you to N.M.E.!" she pleaded.

"Ha! If they try anything, they'll get a jab in the noggin'. Besides. Kirby's on the other side. I'm supposed to be with him," Knuckle Joe said.

Roll slowly got up from on top of him. "You aren't going to run now, are you? Not until we talk?"

Knuckle Joe stood up and wiped his nose with his finger. "Sure. Make it quick, though."

"Can I come with you? With my brother?" Roll asked as she pulled herself into a kneeling position.

"Brother? You mean X?"

Roll nodded. "Yes. I wanna take him with me."

"Nope. Seemed like he was busy enough. I think he better handle his own slew of problems," Knuckle Joe said, turning back around to face the portal.

Roll sighed. "Joe?" Knuckle Joe turned around with an inquisitive expression. "Be safe."

Knuckle Joe grinned and said, "Don't worry about me. Just worry about your brother, okay? Seems like he could use some help some of the time."

Roll watched him as he walked into the portal and faded away, feeling so helpless. As soon as Knuckle Joe was gone, the portal closed, making Roll jump. Was that all that N.M.E. wanted? They just wanted Knuckle Joe? What were they going to do to him? She shivered from the thoughts that ran through her head as she slowly got up onto her feet. She walked slightly numbly down the stairs to her Ride Chaser, her mind filled with all sorts of images. Were they going to change him into what she herself had been for that brief time? A monster? Devoid of feeling? Whatever they were going to do, Roll couldn't do anything to stop it.

Slowly, her expression lightened and she started to grin. Maybe there wasn't something she could do now... but maybe the next chance she got, she could take down N.M.E.

Once she got inside the hunter base, she immediately made her way down to the engineers, mechanics, and weapon developers.

"Can I take a class?" she asked one of the workers there as the worker was trying to make something work.

"Hold on a second," the worker said, fiddling around some more with the part. Something inside of the part snapped and the worker groaned. "Okay, what is it?" the worker asked.

"Class? Can I take one?" Roll asked.

The worker eyed her suspiciously and looked over at the other workers.

"I don't know. We're kinda busy."

"I can learn while you guys work! Just let me do it, okay?" she pleaded, grinding her teeth slightly by the sound of her own voice. A little bit like a child.

The worker sighed and looked over her shoulder. "I'd have to get permission."

"If you could, that would be great!" Roll said.

"Wait here," the worker said as she walked over to a more prominent worker and began talking to him.

Roll waited, a little impatiently, as the two workers talked. Finally, the worker came back to her.

"Well?" Roll asked, rubbing her arm.

"He says it'd be okay, just as long as you don't try to meddle around with anything," the worker replied.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Roll said quickly with a smile, her hands holding one another in front of her. "I'll try hard to learn everything you teach!"

The worker chuckled. "Okay. Just don't plop over dead from your excitement. Follow me and you can see our latest work and you can learn about what we're doing and the different things about electronics."

Roll stood next to the workers as they taught her various things as well as some tips to make things easier when doing weapon designs. Roll absorbed the knowledge quickly, her robotic mind able to put all of the information inside permanently. Not only that, she needed this information.

"All right. That's all for today," the head worker said as he stretched.

"That's it? But we just barely started!" Roll said.

"Barely started? It's been quite a few hours since we started, Roll," the worker said.

Roll glanced over to the clock and gasped. "I need to greet X!"

She ran out of the room at full speed and started to make her way down the stairs to the Ride Chaser hanger.

At the end of a Maverick Hunting day, X would always show up promptly at ten o'clock. He normally stayed outside, ready for another Maverick Hunting call if there was one. Then he didn't have to get comfortable at the base only to leave again.

She reached the hanger, ready to throw herself onto X, and stopped, her smile fading away.

"X?" she asked, searching around the hanger for his Ride Chaser. "X? Where are you? Please? X?"

What if he was dead? Slowly, her tears welled up in her eyes as possible scenarios passed through her mind. Maybe she should have gone with him...

"X?" she whimpered, feeling the tears starting to build up. "I shouldn't have left..." She fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands as the sobs gently started to come out. "I shouldn't have left him and Zero behind... I... I should have stayed..."

"Roll? Are you okay?" A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder.

Roll looked up and smiled sadly. "Colonel."

A young reploid in a white ceremonial suit and black hat slowly picked her back up to her feet.

"You miss X, don't you?"

Roll nodded. "Was it like this when Sigma attacked?"

"X being gone for a long time? Yes. It was," Colonel said as he started to lead Roll out of the hanger.

Roll nodded again. There was still hope that X was alive.

"So how come you're not over at Repliforce's base?" Roll asked and sniffed as she wiped away a tear.

"Repliforce and the Maverick Hunters just had a meeting and I was requested to come," Colonel explained.

"Did you bring Iris?" Roll asked.

"Not this time," Colonel said, giving Roll a small squeeze.

"Tell her we need to hang out more," Roll said, looking up at Colonel hopefully.

"I'll make sure that I bring her next time," Colonel said as he and Roll went up in an elevator that would take them to the floor that Roll's room was on. "No more tears, all right? X will be fine," Colonel said as Roll stepped out of the elevator.

Roll turned back around to face him and nodded. "Okay. Thanks for escorting me back," she said, making efforts to smile.

"No problem," Colonel said with a grin. "Just give me a call if you ever want anything, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you," Roll said as she waved good-bye and entered her room.


End file.
